Carmine Marceno

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier highlighted the results of an operation dubbed Sunset Stakes that targeted illegal gambling practices across Lee and Collier counties, mentioning that a new task force to address the problem is coming to Southwest Florida.

The federal corruption investigation against him was terminated last November, but Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno faces a new inquiry into some of the same allegations — this time by the Florida Ethics Commission. Editor's note: Watch WGCU's Southwest Florida In Focus tonight for a special interview with Florida Trident's Bob Norman on the Carmine Marceno case.

A raft of never-before-seen police reports obtained by the Florida Trident via a public records request portray Carmine Marceno Sr., who was then 67, as a stalker, bully, and thief who routinely roamed a Collier County gated community where he lived in his signature sweat pants terrorizing his neighbors.

When the U.S. Attorney’s Office closed a criminal investigation into Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno in November, Marceno issued a statement calling allegations that he engaged in a kickback scheme “completely false.” But in an undercover FBI recording obtained by the Florida Trident, Marceno, while not admitting personal involvement, is heard telling his alleged co-conspirator that he has his “back” regarding payments that may have been made and assuring him they were his “personal business” and the public had no way to discover they were made.

When Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno won the Republican primary on Aug. 18, 2020, he celebrated in a Bonita Springs hotel suite, where close colleagues and friends stood in a circle around the room as he addressed each one. Among those in the circle were fellow sheriff’s office employees like Capt. Chris Lalor, whom he called “heaven sent,” and John Holloway, who would later become his undersheriff and whom he dubbed the “brains of the operation.” But saved for the end was someone Marceno said came from “a different place,” his closest friend, 56-year-old Ken Romano, a New Jersey-raised jeweler with both the look and voice of a backroom character on "The Sopranos."

A Tampa political consultant connected to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the county's top cop isn't part of a "draft Marceno" for Congress effort.

After a pivotal update in a yearlong investigation, a small but committed group said they gathered on the corner in front of the sheriff’s office to make sure the conversation continues.

The FBI and U.S. U.S. Attorney's Office said this week that their case against Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno has been closed. A letter sent Monday to an attorney representing Marceno referenced a Nov. 17 date and confirmed the closure. The letter, to Attorney Donald Day, said the decision was based on “information presently known to the government.”

Bonita Springs jeweler Ken Romano, a key witness in the federal investigation of Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, stares into the camera and addresses an audience of one about rumors circulating that the corruption case against Marceno is going to be killed by the Trump Administration.In the video, Romano, whom Marceno once called his “most loyal friend,” singles out trash mogul Anthony Lomangino – a large campaign donor to both the sheriff and President Donald Trump – and U.S. Attorney General Palm Bondi.

A video, which can be seen here, shows Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno driving south on six-lane South Tamiami Trail in a black Lamborghini Huracan convertible with the top down on a sunny day in Estero. Shooting the video is Marceno’s former friend, Bonita Springs jeweler Ken Romano, who drives in the lane to the right of the sheriff in the same direction. A brief race begins at Romano’s prompting.